Article

Concept of Aesthetics

OVERVIEW

Aesthetics is defined as an appreciation for beauty and a feeling of wonder. Teachers can help

develop children’s aesthetic senses by involving them in the arts through introduction to works

of art, music, dance, and literature. Children’s aesthetic sensibilities are enhanced by allowing

them to explore their environment in a manner that encourages divergent thinking. In discussing

art with children, basic elements such as line, color, form, space, and design are all appropriate.

Teachers can create aesthetic opportunities in the classroom by providing children with

materials, supplies, room décor, objects, books, visiting artists, and varied activities to stimulate

their aesthetic sense.

There are three basic ways to provide young children with developmentally appropriate

aesthetic experiences in the early childhood program:

Provide many opportunities to create art.

Provide many opportunities to look at and talk about art.

Help children become aware of art in their everyday lives.

Developing children’s aesthetic sensitivity is important because it improves the quality of their

learning and encourages the creative process.

KEY TERMS

aesthetic development

—

Teaching young children to appreciate art through everyday

experiences, play, and conversations

aesthetic experiences

—

Experiences involving an appreciation of the beauty of nature, the

rhythm and imagery of music or poetry, or the qualities of works of art.

aesthetic learning

—

Joining what one thinks with what one feels

Aesthetics Movement

—

Movement in the world beginning in early 1800 and lasting the

decade, emphasizing the “science of the beautiful” or the “philosophy of taste.”

aesthetics

—

An appreciation for beauty and a feeling of wonder. It is a sensibility that uses the

imagination as well as the five senses.

aesthetic sense —

One’s own specific taste or preference.

art appreciation

— Seeing and appreciating good artwork; learning to look at and learning to

create visual arts

art elements

—

Basic factors of art that can be used to describe art. These elements include

color, line, form or shape, space, and design.

balance —

The principle of design that deals with visual weight in a work of art

color/hue —

The color name

pattern —

When a particular shape, color, or motif is repeated in a rhythmic way

intensity —

The varied color when a hue’s complementary color, the color opposite it on the

color wheel, is added to the original color

language of art —

Expansion of the language of the early childhood classroom.

The words of

the language are the elements of art.

line —

A continuous mark on a surface

multicultural aesthetics —

A worldview of art which honors heritage, community, and tradition

multimedia artwork —

Integration of art such as walk-in sculpture environments; mixes of live

dance and films; and art exhibitions with drama, where actors move into the audience to engage

in the drama

primary colors —

Red, blue, and yellow

secondary colors —

Orange, violet (purple), and green

sensory awareness —

Helping children to focus on the variations and contrasts in the

environment

shape/form —

Terms used to describe the contours of enclosed spaces in art

tertiary colors —

Red-violet, red-orange, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-orange, and yellow-

green

unity —

The feeling of wholeness or oneness in an artwork that is accomplished using the

elements and principles of art

value —

The relative lightness or darkness of a hu